Shay trotted through the grassy land, limping slightly on his healing leg. He'd come here on his way to the north intending to practice hunting with less-than-perfect vision and hearing. His face had just now healed to the point that he felt comfortable opening his jaws in a manner conducive to a killing blow though the muscles around the wound were still not responding quite as well as they had before the accident. Minor paralysis, he'd been told, which was absolutely fine considering that one of the other possible outcomes of falling down the side of a ravine was death.
Autumn was not the optimal time to relearn such an important skill - that would be spring when all the young were born, or summer when they were out on their own for the first time, rather than fall when all the stupid young had been killed off but the old were not yet weakened by winter - but it was what he had to work with and Shay wouldn't waste time and energy complaining about it. He'd spent the whole morning and much of the afternoon at work with no food to show for it, but at least he had learned some very valuable lessons about compensating for his blind eye - particularly after he somehow managed to run into the one lone tree in a wide-open field.
Well, it wasn't the first time he'd gone hungry, and it would hardly be his last unless something catastrophic happened in the next few minutes to end his existence... always a possibility. Having just missed another catch, Shay splayed on his belly, panting lightly, to take a rest before he'd move on. Still getting used to keeping watch with one eye and one working ear, he was probably less alert than he should have been...
The gold and black fea had been sitting among the tall, golden grasses of the prairie for quite a while. The yellow color of the majority of her coat was a good camouflage for this time of year when the fall had already firmly taken a hold on the land and had turned the usually green grasses into dry, golden strands. What had kept her here was the sight of a gray-hued wolf apparently struggling with catching any food. In a sad sort of way it was kind of amusing, watching him try again and again to catch prey and failing each time.
The scarring that covered one side of his face was obvious, even from this distance. It was obvious that this wound had happened fairly recently and that this wolf was trying to adjust to his new found blindness. That was the only reason Libra had stayed where she was for so long. She knew he needed to figure out how to deal with this disability on his own, no one would be able to help him with this unique situation but himself. But, finally, she watched him flop down onto the ground and she stood with a little shake of her head.
Libra had been downwind from him and a fair distance off so she wasn't surprised that he hadn't noticed her earlier. She padded toward him, her tail swaying softly with her natural grace. When she was a few feet away she stopped once more, her golden and ruby gaze fixed upon him and her head tipped to the side slightly. "Having a bit of trouble?"
Shay's ear flicked toward the sound of a footstep moments before a wolf stepped into his restricted view. He cocked his head to the side quizzically at the bright color and interesting pattern of her coat and eyes, and curiosity flared in him. What bloodlines did this wolf have, that combine such intriguing traits in her? Would her pups carry the same traits? What would they look like if the father was... say, a white wolf? Hmmm....
He'd stared blankly at her for perhaps a hair too long before he realized he was supposed to answer her question. He smiled at her, a pleasant smile despite it being somewhat lop-sided from the paralysis. Words rocketed out, lacking inflection. Maybe someday he'd be able to fake that as well as he did smiling, yes? "Trouble, yes. I'm learning from it. I calculate that if I keep this rate of progress I will have a rabbit by sundown, unless an unpredictable variable changes the progress. Oh, hello."
Libra had to resist tilting her head to the side curiously at the stranger's monotone words, even his choice of words lacking any real emotion. He did smile, though it was unfortunately lopsided with the one side of his face being injured. It seemed like a shame for him to have to work so hard just for one rabbit. He did need to learn how to do it on his own though... "Well, maybe I can be one of those unpredictable variables you were talking about. I'm Libra."
She paused so he could introduce himself if he so chose and then settled down on her haunches. "If it would help any I can watch you hunt and give you some corrections. It might speed the process along a little bit anyway." She had already decided that if it took him too much longer to catch something she would help get him a meal and then he could continue trying to hunt if he wished. She didn't exactly feel bad for him, but she didn't want him to starve either.
